Delhi High Court pulls up Indian Railways for not implementing Disability Act

D.N.I.S. News
Network-
In a huge breakthrough that may change the face of Indian Railways, the Delhi
High Court has pulled up the world’s largest passenger carrier for not
implementing the Disability Act despite a decade having gone by since the
statute mandated barrier-free travel and special services.

Reacting to
an affidavit submitted by the Railways in response to the Public Interest
Litigation filed by Disabled Rights Group (D.R.G.), the two-judge bench said,
“Even if there was no statute, the carrier should have thought of comfortable
travel for disabled passengers.”

Further,
Justices Vijender Jain and Rekha Sharma said that the time frame of six months
as proposed by the Railways for conducting a technical feasibility survey of
various stations to create access features is too long. The Judges asked
Director of Establishment B. Majumdar, who was present in the Court, to finish
the task in four months.

The Judges
took note that affidavit talks only about ramps and not about lifts. Justice
Jain drew the attention of the Railways to its massive revenue earning by A and
A1 category stations and asked why lifts could not be installed at these
stations.

The affidavit
refers to the introduction of special coaches for disabled people and seeks
eight-years to make them a part of all mail/express passenger trains. The court
shot down the proposed time-frame and reduced it to two-years and also
criticised the Railways for not proposing to add these coaches in Air -
Conditioned (A.C.) category. The Judges asked why disabled people should be
denied comfort of A.C. travel like all other passengers.

The Judges
passed an order stating that all stations should not only have wheelchairs
available but a clear signage, in English, Hindi and regional language, giving
the name and location of the official incharge for providing this assistance.

“The Station
Master will be held personally liable in case of a lapse,” the Judges added.

Taking
cognisance of the need for broad based consultation in ensuring a holistic
assessment and preparation of blueprint for making the Railways accessible, the
Court asked the Railways to take feedback from D.R.G. and accommodate their
suggestions.